King Nut Peanut Butter Cause of Salmonella Outbreak
So here we go again. Another Salmonella outbreak that people need to be concerned about!
Right now, the CDC is working with public health officials in several states, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate an ongoing outbreak of sickness tied to Salmonella Typhimurium.
As of Friday, January 9, 2009, 399 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 42 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows:
- Alabama (1)
- Arizona (8)
- Arkansas (3)
- California (55)
- Colorado (9)
- Connecticut (6)
- Georgia (5)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (10)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (3)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (2)
- Kentucky (3)
- Maine (3)
- Maryland (7)
- Massachusetts (39)
- Michigan (20)
- Minnesota (30)
- Missouri (8)
- Nebraska (1)
- New Hampshire (10)
- New Jersey (13)
- New York (12)
- Nevada (6)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota (10)
- Ohio (53)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (5)
- Pennsylvania (12)
- Rhode Island (3)
- South Dakota (2)
- Tennessee (9)
- Texas (5)
- Utah (3)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (12
- Washington (11)
- West Virginia (2)
- Wisconsin (3)
- Wyoming (2).
Among the 380 persons with dates available, the Salmonella illnesses began between September 3 and December 31, 2008, with most illnesses beginning after October 1, 2008. Patients range in age from less than 1 to 98 years; 49% are female. Among persons with available information, 18% were hospitalized.
So what is causing this Salmonella Outbreak?
Although not confirmed yet that this national outbreak is directly related, officials from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) just issued a product advisory after MDA’s preliminary laboratory testing indicated the presence of Salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter.
These 5 pound King Nut peanut butter containers are not known to be distributed for retail sale in grocery stores, thankfully or the numbers would be higher. State officials are urging establishments who may have the product on hand to avoid serving it, pending further instructions as the investigation progresses.
State officials discovered the contamination as a result of product testing initiated after an MDH epidemiological investigation implicated King Nut creamy peanut butter as a likely source of Salmonella infections in Minnesota residents. The Minnesota cases have the same genetic fingerprint as the cases in the national outbreak mentioned above. Laboratory results for the product sample have not officially been linked to this national outbreak, but the chances are high that these Salmonella outbreaks are directly related. We will find out next week when additional tests will be completed.
This isn’t the first peanut butter Salmonella outbreak in recent years. In 2007, there was a Great Value and Peter Pan peanut butter outbreak that sickened people in 47 states.
Salmonella Symptoms
Salmonella symptoms can be very painful. The majority of people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. When severe infection occurs, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. If you feel you may have Salmonella poisening, you should get medical attention right away. In addition, if you want to file a lawsuit against the party responsible, you will need to be diagnosed with Salmonella by a physician.